Apparatus for forming thin wall cellular plastic containers



W. A. DART April 23, 1968 APPARATUS FOR FORMING THIN WALL CELLULAR PLASTIC CONTAINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Original Filed Nov. 27, 1959 INVENTOR. M4 4 ma Jeni 016 daef BY mad, lfb

Ar ra 4/5 m W. A. DART A ril 23, 1968 APPARATUS FOR FORMING THIN WALL CELLULAR PLASTIC CONTAINERS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed Nov. 27. 1959 HEAT EJECT FOA M EXPANDABLE RESIN LOAD HOMPRESSP United States Patent 3,378,885 APPARATUS FOR FORMING THIN WALL CELLULAR PLASTIC CONTAINERS William Arthur Dart, Mason, Mich., assignor to Dart Manufacturing Company, Mason, Mich., a Michigan partnership Original application Nov. 27, 1959, Ser. No. 855,561, now Patent No. 3,178,491, dated Apr. 13, 1965. Divided and this application Apr. 23, 1964, Ser. No. 368,436

4 Claims. (Cl. 18-5) This is a divisional application of the earlier filed parent application, Ser. No. 855,561, filed Nov. 27, 1959, which issued as United States Letters Patent No. 3,178,491 on Apr. 13, 1965.

This invention relates to an apparatus for forming cellular plastic containers and more particularly to an apparatus whereby a compression step is utilized to form a thin wall highly cellular plastic container.

Single wall containers of the prior art have been formed from cellular plastic material in order to achieve insulating characteristics hitherto not found in single wall containers constructed from processed paper, cardboard, metal and the like. The plastic containers of the prior art have generally had to utilize a restricted size of plastic head or granule in order to adequately fill a mold cavity so as to provide a leak-proof thin-wall container of a certain wall thickness. The formation of thin-wall plastic containers has heretofore required the provision of a fixed mold cavity corresponding to the final shape of the container being formed. Open mold loading techniques generally used are not applicable to thin wall container work due to the foaming characteristic of the material being utilized. It is inherent that the mold cavity be substantially filled prior to foaming to insure proper results. Care has had to be taken in the formation of the containers to avoid a high incidence of rejects due to defects in the wall surfaces of the containers. These defects have been formed by the uneven foaming caused by improper loading of the resin beads or granules within the mold cavity.

In the devices of the prior art, foamable resins are introduced into fixed molds. Heat is then applied to expandably foam the resins into the shape of the mold cavity. There is 110 process or apparatus in the known prior art which contemplates the compression of preexpanded foamable resin beads or granules prior to foaming, but after they have been loaded into a mold. For any given wall thickness of the devices of the prior art, the diameter of the pre-expanded beads was automatically limited if a double cell Wall thickness was to be maintained. Hence, this has resulted in the use of more resin material.

Another problem encountered in forming of the devices of the prior art has been the fact that only a small portion of the surface area of the spherical pre-expanded beads came into direct contact wtih the mold wall. This increased the heat transfer time required in the foaming operation and, hence, required a slower cycle thereby limiting the mass production rate per mold of such thin wall containers.

A need has arisen for an apparatus for forming thin wall plastic containers whereby expandable polystyrene beads may be pre-expanded beyond limits of final con tainer wall size so as to result in the use of smaller amounts of resin material per container.

A need has arisen for an apparatus for forming thin wall plastic containers whereby the diameter of the preexpanded plastic heads is not limited by the final wall thickness of the thin wall container.

A need has therefore existed for an apparatus which physically reduces the volume of pre-expanded resin material in the mold prior to further expansion of the resin within the mold.

A need has therefore also existed for an apparatus for forming cellular plastic containers having a relatively thin wall size while maintaining high insulating effectiveness and leak-proof construction.

In addition, a need has arisen for an apparatus for forming thin wall cellular plastic containers having a relatively high concentration of small cells throughout the body portion of the finished product.

Another need has been the provision of positive quality control over the wall surfaces of the cellular plastic containers so produced.

Yet another need has arisen for an apparatus for forming thin wall plastic containers whereby a greater surface area of the pre-expanded beads is placed in direct contact of the mold Wall prior to heating so as to speed-up heat transfer time.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for the formation of a thin wall plastic con tainer having a compressed cellular body portion.

Another object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for making a thin wall plastic container wherein the pre-expanded resin material is compressed after being loaded into the mold.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a thin Wall cellular plastic container having a minimum of sur face defects.

A still further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for making a cellular plastic container which utilizes a load, compress, foam, and eject sequence.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a plastic container having a thin Wall compressed construction while maintaining high insulating and leak-proof qualities.

Another object of this invention is to provide a method and apparatus whereby a pre-expanded resin material may be loaded into an expanded mold, compressed, and then foamed to create a thin wall cellular plastic container.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a mold press apparatus for thin wall containers which is expanded for the charging or loading of resin material therein thereby greatly facilitating the loading process.

A further object of this invention is to provide an apparatus for forming a thin wall cellular plastic container from resin material which has been pre-expanded to a degree hitherto not possible thereby resulting in savings of resin material.

Another object of this invention is to provide an appa ratus for forming thin wall containers whereby a faster molding cycle is possible due to the increased surface areas of the plastic beads in direct heat transfer contact with the mold walls.

Other objects and advantages found in the construction of my invention will be apparent from a consideration of the following specification in connection with the appended claims and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a cross-sectional schematic front view illustrating the entire mold press apparatus and showing in detail the relative positioning of the actuating mechanisms for the movable components of the mold assembly.

FIGURE 2 is a cross-sectional schematic view illustrating the expanded load position of the mold elements and showing the loading channel through which the pre-expanded polystyrene beads are injected to fill the mold cavity.

FIGURE 3 is a crosssectional schematic view illustrating the compressed foam position of the mold elements which determines the final configuration of the thin wall container.

FIGURE 4 is a cross-sectional schematic view illustrating the ejection position whereby the mold bottom ejects the finished product and showing a thin wall container being ejected.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged partial schematic view illustrating in detail the relative positioning of the mold plug and the shell member in their load position and showing the pre-expanded polystyrene beads loaded in the expanded mold cavity prior to compression.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged partial schematic view illustrating in detail the relative positioning of the mold plug and the shell member in their compressed position and showing the compressed deformed polystyrene beads presenting an increased surface area against walls of the mold cavity.

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged partial schematic view illustrating th mold plug and shell member till in the compressed position but showing the resin material in its final foamed state.

FIGURE 8 is a simplified flow diagram setting forth the various steps of the molding cycle and indicating the points at which the preexpanded polystyrene is introduced into the mold, compressed, heated to foam, cooled, and finally ejected as a thin wall container.

General description In general, an apparatus is provided for forming thin wall plastic containers from foamable resin material. The apparatus of the instant invention incorporates the use of a compression step in the formation of cellular plastic containers to achieve thin wall construction having high insulating characteristics. The compression step of applicant actually physically reduces the volume of material in the mold after loading. In this particular type of thin wall construction, the mold cavity is substantially filled with pre-expanded resin beads or granules. If the mold cavity is already at its final mold position prior to loading, the size of the pre-expanded beads must be limited to a predetermined size if a double cell wall thickness is to be maintained. The incorporation of a compression step into the molding cycle permits a larger or expanded mold cavity during the loading step and, hence, a larger size of pre-expanded head. This results in the use of less resin material per container and hence each container is more economical to produce without any reduction in quality or performance. In addition, the use of an expanded mold cavity greatly facilitates and speeds up the loading of the pre-expanded beads into the cavity.

The compression step does not alter the basic cellular construction of the thin Wall containers and hence the insulating effectiveness of the applicants containers is not decreased even though the compression step is utilized.

In addition, the compression step deforms the preexpanded polystyrene beads within the mold cavity so that an increased surface area of the beads comes into direct contact with the mold wall, thereby greatly facilitating heat transfer and thus speeding up the molding cycle.

In general, a suitable mold press frame is provided which supports the mold components. Actuating means are provided for the movable mold components and loading means are associated with the apparatus so as to selectively deliver pre-determined measured amounts of resin into the mold cavity. The mold consists of three main components. Two of these components are movable so as to accomplish the compression step.

A pre-determined metered amount of pre-expanded beads is introduced into the expanded mold cavity prior to the compression step. The mold components are provided with heat exchange elements for selectively heating and cooling the mold cavity in order to foamably expand the resin therein so as to form the thin wall containers.

After the foaming operation has been completed, the movable components of the mold cooperate to eject the finished container.

A commercially available steam pre-expander is used to pre-expand the expandable polystyrene beads to any desired size in accordance with plastic molding procedures known in the art and is not shown in the drawings.

As the description becomes more specific, it will be seen that the entire operation is automatically sequenced and the apparatus lends itself to high speed automatic production of thin Wall plastic containers.

S pacific description As shown in FIGURE 1, a mold press apparatus is provided for the manufacture of thin wall containers. The frame 11 consists of machine supports 12, lower actuator cross support 13, upper actuator cross support 14, and vertical platen guides 15. A lower air cylinder actuator member 16 having an upwardly extending actuator rod 17 is provided on the lower actuator cross support 13. The upwardly extending actuator rod 17 is connected to and selectively moves the lower platen 18. The lower platen 18 engages the platen guides and is slidable therealong. A mold plug support frame 19 extends upwardly from the lower platen 18 so as to support the tapered plug mold element 20 in its use position. Shell mold supports 21 are provided on the platen guides 15 and may be adjusted to any desired fixed position therealong. The shell mold supports 21 engage the tapered shell mold element 22 and retain it in its fixed use position.

An upper air cylinder actuator member 23 having a downwardly extending actuator rod 24 is provided on the upper actuator cross support 14. The downwardly extending actuator rod 24 is connected to and selectively moves the upper platen 25. The upper platen 25 engages the platen guides 15 and is slidable therealong. Mold bottom supports 26 extend downwardly from the upper platen 25 to support the mold bottom element 27 in its use position. The shell mold element 22 is thus intermediate to and operatively receives the taper plug mold element 20 and the mold bottom element 27 to provide an expandable mold cavity 28. Each of the mold elements are provided with heating and cooling cavities 29. Each of the cavities 29 are provided with heating and cooling lines 30 which selectively provide steam and coolant from any suitable source.

More specifically, a mold assembly is provided having three main components. One of these components is a tapered plug 20 which has an outer surface configuration that defines the shape of the inside surface of the thin- Wall container 31 to be formed. The plug 20 is fixedly associated with a lower platen 18 which is movable. The plug 20 has three positions consisting of (l) down-toeject, (2) intermediate-to-load, and (3) up-to-mold.

The second component of the mold is the cylindrically shaped mold bottom element 27 which defines the bottom of the container 31 to be formed. The mold bottom 27 is fixedly associated with upper plate 25 which is also movable. The mold bottom 27 has three positions consisting of (1) up-to-load, (2) intermediate-to-rnold and (3) down-to-eject.

The third component is the internally tapered cylindrical shell 22 whose inner surface defines the outside wall of the container 31. The shell 22 is stationary and is located intermediate to and receives the mold plug 20 and mold bottom 27. The shell element 22 is provided with an upwardly extending flange portion 32 which slidably receives the mold bottom 27. A material pressure feed line 33 is provided through the flange wall 32 through which the pre-expanded polystyrene beads are loaded into the mold cavity 28. The feed line 33 delivers pre-determined amounts of beads from a suitable dispensing supply hopper 34 to substantially fill the expanded mold cavity 28. Suitable air pressure delivery means are incorporated into the supply hopper dispensing apparatus so as to permit automatic selective delivery of beads to the mold cavity 28. The lower portion of the shell mold member 22 is elongate so as to slidably receive the mold plug element 20. The shell element 22 cooperates with the mold plug element 20 and mold bottom element 27 to define a fully enclosed expandable mold cavity 28, as shown schematically in FIGURES 1, 2 and 3. The mold assembly is designed so as to prevent spillage of the resin material when the mold is in its expanded or load position.

As shown schematically in the drawings, the mold components are provided with heat exchange cavities 29 to allow selective heating and cooling of the mold cavity so as to foamably expand the resin therein. It is within the scope of this invention to provide any other type of suitable heating and cooling means, if desired.

Actuating means are provided on the mold press apparatus in order to move the mold bottom 27 and plug 20 to the various positions they hold in the molding sequence. Although the actuating means of the preferred embodiment consist of compressed air cylinders, it is within the scope of the invention to utilize electrically operated servomechanisms or any other type of suitable actuating means known in the art.

Sequencing means are also provided to properly regulate the various steps in the molding sequence. These means are well known in the mechanical arts and are not described herein.

More specifically, the molding cycle is as follows:

(1) As shown schematically in FIGURE 4, the completed container 31 from the previous cycle is ejected by movement of the mold bottom element 27 downwardly. The plug element 20 (not shown in FIGURE 4) also has moved downwardly to permit the ejection of the container 31 by the downward movement of the mold bottom 27.

(2) The mold plug 20 and mold bottom 27 each then move upwardly to the expanded load or charge position, as shown schematically in FIGURE 2. In this position, the mold plug 20 has not fully entered the shell member 22. The mold bottom 27 is also retracted and therefore, the mold cavity 28 is relatively large which greatly facilitates loading of the pre-expanded polystyrene beads therein. The design of the mold assembly is such that the plastic material does not escape during loading. It will be noted in FIGURES 1 and 2 that the bead inlet line or channel 30 is open to permit loading of the pre-expanded beads into the expanded mold cavity 28 when the mold bottom 27 is in its load position. The enlarged partial schematic view of FIGURE 5 illustrates the relative positioning of the mold plug 20 and the shell mold element 22 in the expanded load position and indicating in detail the pre-expanded polystyrene beads 35 loaded therein.

(3) As shown in FIGURE 3, the mold plug 20 then moves upwardly to the compress and foam mold position. The mold bottom 27 simultaneously moves downwardly, shutting off the inlet channel 30. This combined movement of mold plug 20 and mold bottom 27 compresses the pre-expanded polystyrene beads between their surfaces and the surface of the intermediate shell member 22. This is shown in FIGURE 6. It will be noted in FIGURE 6 that the compressed beads present a greater surface area against the walls of the mold elements. As shown in FIGURE 5, the beads, prior to compression, are in minimal surface contact with the mold cavity walls. The volume of the mold cavity 28 is thus decreased and the final wall thickness of the container is thus determined. The final mold cavity size is shown in FIGURE 3. Heat is applied to the cavities 29 within the mold components so as to foamably expand the compressed bead material into its final shape conforming with the mold cavity 28. FIGURE 7 shows in detail the compressed beads after they have been foamably expanded to form the thin wall container 31. After cooling, the completed piece 31 is then ejected, as shown in FIGURE 4, thus completing the molding cycle.

Operation The preferred embodiment of the thin wall container 31 is formed from raw expandable polystyrene beads or granules which are commercially available. Although the preferred embodiment of the invention has made specific utilization of expandable polystyrene beads or granules, it is considered to be within the scope of the invention to utilize any of the other types of foamable resin material that are commercially available.

In operation, the resin beads are pre-expanded to any desired size in accordance with the particular application. For instance, pre-expansion of the beads to a density of 4- to 5 pounds per cubic foot requires a wall thickness of about one-tenth of an inch if a double layer of heads is to be obtained. A double layer is preferable because it is less likely to produce rejected pieces by insuring leakproof construction. The density of the pre-expanded beads can be controlled by regulating the feed rates of bead and steam to the pre-expander. This is accomplished in accordance with method and procedures well known in the art. As has been stated previously, the compression step incorporated into the method of applicant permits pre-expansion of the beads to a larger diameter than has been possible previously without increasing the final wall thickness of the container 31. This, of course, results in the use of less resin material in each container 31.

After the expandable polystyrene beads have been preexpanded, they are fed into the expanded mold cavity 28 when the mold components are in the expanded load position. The mold components are then sequentially actuated through the molding cycle consisting of (1) load, (2) compress, (3) foam and (4) eject. This cycle is shown schematically in the diagram of FIGURE 8.

It is thus seen that a thin wall container is provided which has been formed faster and more economically than has heretofore been possible. The incorporation of a compression step into the molding cycle permits use of larger size pre-expanded beads which results in the use of less resin material in each container. In addition, the heating time for foaming is cut down due to the fact that the compressed beads present a greater surface contact area against the wall of the mold components and the heating elements contained therein. It has been found that cycling time is reduced twenty-five percent (25%) due to this increased surface contact area which results in a faster heat transfer rate from mold wall to compressed bead.

Another important advantage of the incorporation of a compression step in the molding cycle is that an expanded mold cavity is available during the loading process. Loading during the foam or mold position would be more difficult and time-consuming due to the narrow mold cavity required for the thin wall construction of the plastic containers. It is pointed out that the product being formed, a thin wall container, does not lend itself to an *open mold loading technique as is the usual case.

Although a specific type of mold press apparatus has been described having certain movable mold components, it is Within the scope of this invention to vary the design of the mold press in any manner known in the art as long as a compression step is included in the molding sequence.

Van'ious modifications of the invention may be made Without departing from the principle thereof. Each of these modifications is to be considered as included in the hereinafter appended claims unless these claims by their language expressly provide otherwise.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, I claim the following:

1. In a mold press apparatus for forming a thin wall cellular plastic container, the combination including: a frame; an expandable mold having movable components supported by said frame, said mold selectively defining an expanded but closed load position, said mold adapted to close to a final mold position so as to compress foamable resin material loaded therein; means on said frame adapted to introduce pre-determined amounts of resin material into said mold when said mold is in its expanded but closed load position; and means in association with said mold to selectively heat and cool said mold components so as to selectively foamably expand said material, after compression, within said mold to form a thin wall container.

2. In a mold press apparatus having an expandable mold assembly for compressibly forming expandable resin material into a thin wall cellular plastic container, the combination including: a frame; a movable lower platen provided on said frame and having upwardly extending mold tapered plug member mounted thereon, said lower platen selectively moving said mold plug member to a down-to-eject posit-ion, an intermediate-to-load position, and an up-to-mold position; a movable upper platen mounted on said frame in register with said lower platen having a downwardly extending mold bottom element mounted thereon, said upper platen selectively moving said mold bottom element to an up-to-load position, an intermediate-to-mold position, and a down-to-eject position; and a stationary mold shell member positioned on said frame intermediate said upper platen and said lower platen, said shell member adapted to operatively receive said movable mold plug member and said movable mold member so as to define a closed but expandable mold cavity for compressibly forming thin wall plastic containers.

3. In a mold press apparatus for compressibly forming foamable resin beads into a thin wall container, the combination including: a frame, said frame provided with vertical platen guides; a movable lower platen provided on said frame in slidable engagement with said vertical platen guides and having an upwardly extending mold plug member fixedly mounted thereon; lower actuator means mounted on said frame below said lower platen, said actuator means operatively connected to said lower platen so as to selectively move said mold plug member to a down-to-eject position, an intermed-iate-to-load position, and an up-to-mold position; a movable upper platen provided on said frame in register with said lower platen and in slidable engagement with said vertical platen Cal guides, said upper platen having a downwardly extending mold bottom element fixedly mounted thereon; an upper actuator means mounted on said frame above said upper platen and opposite said lower actuator means, said upper actuator means operatively connected to said upper platen so as to selectively move said mold bottom element to an up-to-load position, an intermediate-to-mold position, and a down-to-eject position; a fixed mold shell member provided on said frame in operative register with and intermediate to said upper platen and said lower platen, said mold shell member adapted to operatively receive said movable plug member and said movable mold bottom member so as to define a closed but expandable mold cavity for compressibly forming thin wall plastic containers; means in association with said frame to selectively load said expandable mold cavity with resin material; and means in association with said frame to selectively heat and cool said mold cavity so as to foamably expand compressed resin material contained therein.

4. In a mold press apparatus for forming a thin wall cellular plastic container, the combination including:

(a) a support frame;

(b) an expandable mold comprised of movable mold components supported on said frame;

(0) means on said frame to actuate said movable mold components of said mold so as to define an expanded but closed mold cavity;

(d) means on said frame adapted to introduce predetermined amounts of resin material into said expanded but closed mold cavity;

(e) means on said frame to close said movable mold components to a final mold position so as to compress said resin material within said mold cavity; and

(f) means on said frame to foamably expand said compressed resin material within said mold.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,069,725 12/1962 Root l8-5 3,118,176 1/1964 Freedman et a]. 18-5 3,162,705 12/1964 Smucker et al 264-53 WILBUR L. MOBAY, Primary Examiner.

J. SPENCER OVERHOLSER, Examiner. 

1. IN A MOLD PRESS APPARATUS FOR FORMING A THIN WALL CELLULAR PLASTIC CONTAINER, THE COMBINATION INCLUDING: A FRAME; AN EXPANDABLE MOLD HAVING MOVALBE COMPONENTS SUPPORTED BY SAID FRAME, SAID MOLD SELECTIVELY DEFINING AN EXPANDED BUT CLOSED LOAD POSITION, SAID MOLD ADAPTED TO CLOSE TO A FINAL MOLD POSITION SO AS TO COMPRESS FOAMABLE RESIN MATERIAL LOADED THEREIN; MEANS ON SAID FRAME ADAPTED TO INTRODUCE PRE-DETERMINED AMOUNTS OF RESIN MATERIAL INTO SAID MOLD WHEN SAID MOLD IS IN ITS EXPANDED BUT CLOSED LOAD POSITION; AND MEANS IN ASSOCIATION WITH SAID MOLD TO SELECTIVELY HEAT AND COOL SAID MOLD COMPONENTS SO AS TO SELECTIVELY FOAMABLY EXPAND SAID MATERIAL, AFTER COMPRESSION, WITHIN SAID MOLD TO FORM A THIN WALL CONTAINER. 